When my daughter, Liv, asked if we could go to Mexico, I thought, “that’s sweet! She wants to visit Grandma” who recently moved to Pátzcuaro in the Michoacán. Liv then explained that it wasn’t to visit Grandma, whom she does love very much, but rather to eat churros and chocolate.
When we visited Pátzcuaro a year and a half ago, the kids would wait in the main plaza for the churros vendors to arrive. Liv was their best customer. She says she especially loves the taste of the cinnamon-sugar that dusts them, and their pink interior. Pink? That caught my attention. But after I thought more about it, I remembered that these foot-long donut sticks did have a faint pink color to their dough. Does anyone know why they are pink?
My introduction to churros was far less cultural. I was at Disney World when I was about ten, and bought them at a food stand at the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” exhibit. They were delicious. But I don’t think I learned that they were Mexican until several years later.
I told Liv that though we can’t go to Mexico right now, we can make churros at home. I didn’t realize it at first but churros are essentially a choux pastry dough - the same dough that makes profiteroles, eclairs, and gougères. It’s a fun dough to make, and pretty straight forward. The messy step in this recipe is in the frying. These churros are delicious with just their cinnamon-sugar coating, so making the chocolate sauce is completely up to you. But if you have a kid like Liv, you‘d better plan on the chocolate sauce. To watch us cooking churros, go to our Instagram video.
Churros and Chocolate
Makes about 18 (3-inch) churros.
For the chocolate sauce (optional):
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
For the churros:
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 quarts canola or vegetable oil, for frying
1. If you choose, make the chocolate sauce: Place chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the cream and salt until it just comes to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate. Let it melt for 1 minute. Stir with a spatula in tight circles from the center outward until combined. Stir in the room temperature butter until combined; keep warm.
2. Prepare the churros: in a shallow bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar; set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the milk, vanilla, and salt over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 3 minutes.
3. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a standing mixer or large mixing bowl. Using the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, mix the dough for a few turns about every 30 seconds to release steam until the dough is slightly cooled, for about 4 minutes total. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. (The dough will separate each time an egg is added but it will come back together.)
4. Fill a pastry bag fitted with 5/8-inch star tip with batter. (A star tip helps create those beautiful ridges, which cooks the dough more evenly. If you don’t have one, use a regular tip. And if you don’t have a piping bag, use a Ziploc bag, and cut a 1/2-5/8 inch slit at the end - then make some small zig zag slices on the cut area to simulate the star tip and to create a more circular dough when you pipe it.)
5. In a medium pot, heat about 3 inches of oil to 350°F. Hold the pastry bag several inches above the oil, squeeze out the batter and snip it with kitchen shears when it reaches 3 inches long. Fry in batches, turning once, until deep golden brown, about 4 minutes. (It will look nicely browned by 2 minutes but the batter inside will still be raw. Continue cooking for 2 more minutes - the outside will be deep brown in color - it’s okay!’s) Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. While still hot, roll in the cinnamon sugar. Can be made ahead and kept warm in low-temperature oven. If you choose, serve with chocolate sauce. By Jill Santopietro.